Introduction

The Grand Cherokee is the flagship of Jeep's sport-utility family, and, in some respects, remains ahead of the ever-growing and ever-improving compact-class pack. When Chrysler introduced the Grand Cherokee in 1992 sport-utility sales already were booming, with Jeep Cherokee enjoying year-over-year sales gains for more than a decade. The idea was to take the Cherokee concept a step up the aspirational ladder, combining rugged Jeep attributes with the luxury, comfort and performance associated with expensive cars. The combination has proved to be a winning one. Over a quarter-million Grand Cherokees rolled out of Jeep-Eagle dealerships last year, a total that was second only to Ford's phenomenal Explorer among all sport-utility vehicles. Obviously, the folks at Jeep have been doing something right. For 1996, the Grand Cherokee receives a number of significant detail changes. Most notably, the interior underwent a makeover, which included installation of dual airbags and more luxury options. The exterior also received modest freshening updates. We picked a Limited model with V8 power and 4wd for our review.